When you hear the phrase, "The machines are taking over," you may think of science fiction stories where robots become self-aware and enslave humanity. You may not have realized it, but the machines have already taken over; not with a violent uprising, but through what's called the Internet of Things (IoT).
It takes a big person to admit when they're wrong, and there's nothing bigger than Microsoft. Windows 8 hasn't sold like Microsoft anticipated, and users pin the blame solely on one little button, the Start button, or the lack thereof. With Windows Blue (officially previewing June 26), it's rumored that Microsoft is remorsefully bringing back the button.
With all the attention that hackers receive, you would think that they are solely responsible for every network security breach, but the truth of the matter is that most damages to company networks are due to negligence. Here are the four most common IT security oversights that can lead to major damages to your network.
There was a time when tape backup was the cheapest and the standard data backup solution for businesses. Over the years, cloud services have become more affordable, and now cloud backup solutions like a BDR are cheaper and give businesses more security features. If you are still backing up with tape, then you may be losing money and even putting your business at risk!
Working in front of a computer all day can be challenging for your mind, but not very stimulating for your body. Anything physical that you can add to your routine will benefit your health and stave off the negative side effects that come from sitting in one place for too long. Stretching is a great and easy way to get physical, and yes, there is an app for that.
For most of the last decade the telecommunications company Research in Motion (RIM) led a worldwide smartphone charge with it's series of Blackberry devices. In the past two years, however, RIM's revenue stream has been cut in half and their staggering profits have turned into substantial losses. Can anything save this struggling company?
Emotions aside, whenever an employee is fired or quits, their departure means extra paperwork for Human Resources. After the farewell cake has been cleaned up, the exit interview has been completed, and all the resignation forms have been filed, it is now vital that the former employee's access to the company's network be completely removed.
When you mention the term 'disaster recovery,' most people think about the big ground-shattering events like earthquakes, fires, floods, tropical storms, etc. While these natural events are certainly disasters and devastating in their own right, smaller things can constitute as a disaster for your business, and they aren't seasonal. 99% of disasters happen in the office, most are server failures or some type of data loss.
Thank you to everyone who attended Take Your Agency to the Next Level on January 30, 2009! This year's event was another success, with the overwhelming favorite session being "Ask the Geeks", where Jerry Fetty and Bryant Caudill answered a wide-range of technology and automation questions.
Not only did attendees walk away with a wealth of information and guidance from SMART I.T. Services, many left the seminar with some great prize giveaways just for attending.
The biggest winner of the day was Action Insurance (pictured left with Jerry Fetty) of Utica, MI, who were awarded with our $60,000 Extreme Agency Technology Makeover. Hetrick & Associates of Marquette, MI and Burr & Company of Grand Rapids, MI were also finalists for the makeover. In the coming months, Action Insurance will receive a variety of technology solutions to help increase the productivity of their agency.
Check back often for videos and additional tidbits from the seminar. In the meantime, check out a few pictures from Take Your Agency to the Next Level 2009 below.
Keeping information and company resources organized can be challenging. In today’s economy, it is especially important to have your systems as organized as possible to maintain optimal efficiency.
On February 25, 2009, Bryant Caudill of SMART I.T. Services presented "Creating and Maintaining a Free Intranet Site," a webinar that gave a first-hand look at what Microsoft SharePoint has to offer and how to easily organize your company resources by setting up an intranet site of your own.
Follow along as Bryant guides you through setting up a sample intranet site using SharePoint. This webinar is broken up into 6 sections, clocking in around an hour. Visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/smartitservices to view the complete webinar.
Stay tuned for our next webinar, "Increasing Productivity with Remote Workers," taking place on March 25, 2009 from 10:00 am - 11:00 am.
Action Insuranceof Utica, MI was the winner of SMART I.T. Services' Extreme Technology Makeover. They were announced as the winner at Take Your Agency to the Next Level on January 30, 2009. Check out their creative video submission for the technology makeover!
By popular demand, the grand opening from Take Your Agency to the Next Level 2009 is available for viewing, featuring Jerry Fetty as Super Smart IT Guy.
SMART I.T. Services, Inc. is proud to announce that entries are now being accepted for our Extreme Technology Makeover 2010 giveaway. Action Insurance of Utica, MI won our 2009 giveaway. You could be next!
This makeover includes technology that can help increase employee productivity, gain overall efficiencies, reduce IT costs, prevent data loss and associated expenses and increase overall profitability. Does this sound like something your business could use in these tough economic times? Then enter for your chance to win our Extreme Technology Makeover by clicking here.
20% of small to medium businesses will suffer a major disaster causing loss of critical data every 5 years. (Source: Richmond House Group)
Watch our "Proper Data Backup and Recovery Methods" webinar presented on April 22, 2009 to learn best practices for keeping your company data safe and secure.
Hey Indianapolis area agencies! You're invited to join SMART I.T. Services on June 16, 2009 for “How to Reduce Your IT Costs 30 to 50%”, part of our quarterly Lunch and Learn series.
This hour-long event will be hosted at the IIAI Conference Center.
• See how to reduce costs associated with network performance and downtime
• Learn how you can reduce your business cost of data,
• Discover how to cut costs and reduce threats associated with spam email messages and unauthorized employee web surfing
• Door prizes
• Lunch is provided compliments of SMART I.T. Services!
When:
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Where:
IIAI Conference Center
3435 W. 96th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Cost:
FREE! Registration is quick and easy - click here to register.
93% of organizations have had a virus, worm, or trojan horse successfully infiltrate their network through email (Source: Osterman Research, Inc.) and 30 to 40% of internet browsing is non-job related (Source: IDC Research).
Spam emails are more than just a nuisance – they pose threats to your network security and contribute to lost productivity from having to manage them on a daily basis. Unauthorized employee web browsing is not only a productivity killer; it increases the chances of viruses infiltrating your network and can lead to security breaches.
Our "Managing Spam and Employee Web Browsing" webinar from May 27, 2009 discusses how to prevent spam and associated threats, as well as prevent unauthorized employee web surfing. This webinar is broken into five parts and is viewable by clicking here.
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